Interim Dallas Town Manager Jim Palenick is still locked in an ongoing legal battle with a former employer that fired him, alleging he is owed more than $110,000 in back pay.

But Palenick said he would be willing to bury the hatchet and waive his claim against the city of Rio Rancho, N.M., if they would only give him his old job back. And he demonstrated that by formally applying for the open position this month.

“It’s a place I absolutely love,” he said Monday. “I enjoyed the job and almost everything about it. It’s not a place I wanted to leave.”

Palenick was Rio Rancho’s city manager from 2003 to December 2006, when a newly elected City Council fired him. He went job hunting and was hired as Gastonia’s city manager in August 2007, but was promptly fired again last December by another newly elected City Council that was disgruntled with his performance.

Former Dallas City Manager Ed Munn was then hired to replace Palenick, and Palenick took Munn’s place.

Palenick’s salary as Gastonia’s top administrator was $141,102, though he now makes $80,000 in Dallas. He has continued looking for other, higher-paying positions across the country, and is currently a finalist for the city manager post in Pueblo, Col.

Rio Rancho has remained on Palenick’s radar because of his wrongful termination dispute with the city. But he submitted a resume for his old job there this month.

Open meetings violation

In the Oct. 12 cover letter that accompanied his application, Palenick said his lawsuit over back pay wasn’t really about money.

“My litigation against the city was never about gaining additional or unwarranted remuneration, but rather about upholding the principle of open transparent government and setting a precedent of accountability,” he wrote. “I am certain the matter could be easily resolved to everyone’s satisfaction if I were to be considered for the position.”

Eight months after Palenick was fired, the New Mexico attorney general reviewed how the decision came about and rendered it invalid. He determined that Rio Rancho’s former mayor and several City Council members held private conversations before voting on the termination.

Rio Rancho responded by voting again to terminate Palenick in November 2007 — 11 months after the initial action.

But Palenick didn’t let the issue die. Bolstered by the attorney general’s ruling, he filed his lawsuit in 2008, demanding more than $110,000 in back pay for the 11 months that he was theoretically still employed — but not paid — by Rio Rancho.

The city maintains it doesn’t owe Palenick more money because he demanded and received a $111,000 severance package.

The case has made its way all the way to the New Mexico Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments from either side in September. A decision is not expected for several months.

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Palenick said Monday he felt there were several things that were unfinished and not properly reconciled when he was fired from Rio Rancho in 2006. He said it was very similar to how his tenure ended in Gastonia, when several of the elected officials who had hired him were ousted from office.

Only one of the Rio Rancho City Council members who fired him in 2006 is still there, he said. Rio Rancho’s most recent city manager retired “involuntarily” in July, according to the city.

“In March, they had another major changeover,” Palenick said. “The opportunity for me to go back to a community I very much enjoyed was compelling.”

Palenick said he has not corresponded with Rio Rancho leaders since applying for his old job. The details of how the lawsuit might be resolved, were he to be hired, also have yet to be discussed.

“I guess my expectation at this point is they’re following a process like anybody would in their search,” he said. “They haven’t gotten to the point of talking to finalists.”

Casting a wide net for future positions only makes sense, he said.

“I think anybody does that when they’re trying to further their career and examine potential opportunities,” he said.

You can reach Michael Barrett at 704-869-1826 or twitter.com/GazetteMike.